Solderless connection



SOLDERLESS CONNECTION Filed Sept. 19 1945 FIG 3 FIG 4 igvl/slvroR 5.6.WALSH ATTORNEY Patented May 27, 1 947 'I'his'invention relatestoconnectorscan ticularly' to improyeihent'sin connectors for'elec m 1 iii2': ,5; a in; If 7;

An object is to simplify suchconnectingwmeansi and their'manipula'tion;r-J we :5

Heretofore, yarious types of fasteners or electv trical connectorsh'ayebeen u's'ed in which aaipim is driven" into the" hollow end 'of fan'electrical conductor inserted inan -openin -8 p1ate:i expand this"hollow endto" eleetiically L 'bin'd: the conductor to the platew Otherfastening'fmeans have been nrovided in which" split tubular rivets aresecured to plates and in whi'ch terminal may be inserted, 'the's'filitqends o'f the tubularrivets being be'nt inwardlyi's o' that the:vterminal when "inserted will engage mg :ends-:toomakera tightelectrical connectiontherewith.: "Still other f astenin'g' means havebeen used to' secure v'arious niembersftogether' ih whi" pension'riyet'is inser te members 'an din'which plug the -'b separate the splite'nds'f'of the'f rivets o' bind 's' id members together. i i

generaltype ior festablishinco v electrical conductors or betwe ductors'andfele'ctric A ,ffiaitlllrtei 91 Ph' the form ofa clip t isvattachedand from? atio "p yided j at] an her: securedvtoj said (clip Ir'ovi ed ,tensior'i which whe t he fl limite 1X 1? These connectorsinaybe empl v v lishing multiple. connections between 6 by having the eyeletgofi'one clip inserted in the "auEttrW-o secured to clip land-'conductorHI seaperture of another clip and expanded by the 40 curedto clip 6. These conductors may be conassociated extension or knob beinginserted in nected to the clips by wrapping them over the the saideyelet to secure said clips together. This hooks l2 punched out from theclips and then connector may also be used for establishing conm -y tthese hooks nections between the attached tolln In Fig. 3 the clips Iand 6 have been assembled terminal or similar member r vi an with thesame type of plug or knob 8 and spring I aperture by eett eyelet in theaperture but with the outer free end of the eyelet someof saidterminal-and p d it y he kn what differently formed so that it will hugthe The invention has been illustrated in the acouter lower rim of theopening 5 in a tight and co p ny g drawings in which secure manner.

Fig. 1 shows a portions of two connectors in 0 In Fig. 4 the samegeneral eyelet is provided accorda ce W t t e pp invention before inclip I except that in this case it may be somethey are fastenedtogether; what shorter and if the metal of the clip I is con- Fig. 2shows these two connectors secured to siderably softer than, forexample, the metal of gether in accordance with the applicants inaterminal l3, the outer free end of the eyelet ventlon; will be partlyembedded in and around the lower circumferential edge of the opening 5in this terminal 13 as shown at the point [4. The insertion of the knob8 into the opening of the eyelet 2 may be made by hand if the materialof the clip is soft enough for this purpose whereas if it is somewhatharder, a suitable pair of pliers or similar tool may be used for thisoperation of forcing the knob 8 into the eyelet and pressing the wallsof the eyelet into the inner surface of the opening 5. The knob 8 may bemade of any suitable material even in some instances of a hard rubbercomposition or plastic material.

In Fig. 5 an arrangement is shown in which a series of terminals l5 areassembled in a semicircular termina1 bank I6 such as is well known inthe telephone art. The outer ends of these terminals (5 may be providedwith openings such as 5 in the clips and in these openings may beinserted clips such as I by merely pressing the eyelets into the holesfirst and then pressing the knob into the eyelets. These operations maybe done very quickly and with the assurance the proper electricalconnections are established.

It is, of course, evident that if it is desired to connect a pluralityof conductors together, clips like I may be assembled in a cascadeformation I as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 where three such clips are shownconnected together by the insertion of the eyelet of one clip into theaperture of another. These three clips with their conductors are thenconnected to a terminal as shown at H in Figs. 5 and 6. Thus, theapplicants invention may be used for a variety of purposes where it isdesired to make connections between conductors temporarily orpermanently and in places where it is more convenient to use this methodin preference to soldering or welding of conductors directly together orto terminals in inaccessible places as in terminal banks where it isdiiiicult to solder conductors directly to the terminals. The applicantsinvention is also readily applicable for use in the establishing ofcircuit connections for testing purposes and where connections arelikely to be changed often, it being a simple matter to separate theclips by merely pushing the knobs out of the eyelet and then twistingthe eyelet out of the apertures.

What is claimed is:

1. A fastening device for connecting an electrical conductor to aterminal member having an aperture therein comprising a clip memberhaving an extruded eyelet for insertion in said aperture, a conductorattached to said clip member, a spring member attached to said clip anda knob attached to said Spring formed to fit and enter into said eyeletto expand it in said aperture to securely hold the clip connected to theterminal to establish an electrical connection.

2. A Iastening device comprising a clip memher having an extruded eyeletand an aperture, a spring member attached to said clip, a knob attachedto said spring formed to fit and enter into said eyelet to expand it, anelectrical conductor attached to said clip whereby multiple electricalconnections may be established between the conductors attached to aplurality of such ture in said clip of an inside diameter slightlysmaller than the outside diameter of the extended portion of the eyelet,a spring member attached to said clip having a projection formed to fitand enter into said eyelet to expand it, an electrical conductorattached to said clip whereby electrical connections may be establishedbetween condoctors of a plurality of clips by first inserting theextended portion of the eyelet of one clip into the aperture of anotherclip to hold said clips more or less loosely together and thendepressing the projection on the spring associated with this eyelet intosaid eyelet to expand it and thereby separate the prongs to firmly gripthe side of the clip aperture to attach and connect said clips togetherto establish an electrical connection between the attached conductors.

4. An electrical connector comprising a fiat rectangularly shaped metalstrip having an eyelet extruded from one end thereof and an aperturelocated at the opposite end thereof, an electrical conductor connectedto said strip, a flat spring secured to said strip between the apertureand the eyelet, a knob secured to the free end of said spring formed tofit and enter into the eyelet when the spring is pressed against saidstrip to expand said eyelet when said eyelet is inserted in the apertureof another such strip to establish a tight electrical connection betweenthe conductors of said strips.

5. An electrical connector for connecting an electrical conductor to aterminal member having an aperture, comprising a clip member having anextruded eyelet for insertion in said aperture, a conductor attached tosaid clip member, a spring attached to clip, a knob attached to saidspring formed to fit and enter into said eyelet to expand it in saidaperture to paftly embed the inner edge of said aperture in the outersurface of the eyelet to securely hold the clip member in electricalconnection with said terminal for the establishin of an electricalconnection between said conductor and said terminal.

EDWARD G. WALSH.

